text
stringlengths 0
21.4k
|
|---|
In the Baroque period, fashion shifts from Italian to Spanish masters, and their elaborate systems of Destreza. In the mid-18th century, in keeping with the general Rococo fashion, French masters rise to international prominence, introducing the foil, and much of the terminology still current in modern sports fencing. |
There are also a number of Early Modern fencing masters of note in England, such as George Silver and Joseph Swetnam. |
Academic fencing takes its origin in the Middle Ages, and is subject to the changes of fencing fashion throughout the Early Modern period. It establishes itself as the separate style of Mensur fencing in the 18th |
The traditional Persian style of grappling was known as koshti, with the physical exercise and schooled sport known as varzesh-e bastani. It is said to be traceable back to Arsacid Parthian times (132 BCE - 226 CE), and is still widely practiced today in the region. Following the development of Sufi Islam in the 8th century CE, varzesh-e pahlavani absorbed philosophical and spiritual components from that religion. Other historical grappling styles from the region include Turkic forms such as kurash, köräş and yağlı güreş. |
The north Arabian tradition of horsemanship quickly became an integral part of warfare throughout the Arab world and much of the Middle East. The Middle Ages saw the flourishing of the furusiyya culture, combining the ancient Bedouin concept of honour ("muru'ah") with the Islamic ideals of chivalry. A "" (meaning knight or horseman) would first hone his skills in wrestling and armed combat on the ground before learning to fight while mounted. Furusiyya literature from the 9th to 15th century deal with equestrianism, archery, military strategy, duelling and charging with the lance. Armed fighting included the use of the sword ("sayf"), spear, lance, javelin, dagger ("jambiya"), staff, axe ("tabar"), warhammer, and curved bow. There is also "Tahtib" (التحطيب) which was practiced in ancient Egypt and is still performed in celebrations. |
The Western interest in East Asian martial arts dates back to the late 19th century, due to the increase in trade between the West with China and Japan. European martial arts before that time was focused on the duelling sword among the upper classes on one hand, and various styles of folk wrestling among the lower classes on the other. |
Savate appears in the early 19th century in France, as a mix between English boxing and French folk kicking techniques. At that time, in France, it existed in gyms called "salles d'armes" where savate, English boxing, fencing, canne de combat and sometimes even wrestling was practiced. |
Edward William Barton-Wright, a British railway engineer who had studied jujutsu while working in Japan between 1894–97, was the first man known to have taught Asian martial arts in Europe. He also founded an eclectic martial arts style named Bartitsu which combined jujutsu, judo, wrestling, boxing, savate and stick fighting. Also during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, catch wrestling contests became immensely popular in Europe. |
The development of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the early 20th century is a good example of the worldwide cross-pollination and syncretism of martial arts traditions. |
The later 1970s and 1980s witnessed an increased media interest in the martial arts, thanks in part to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies and very popular television shows like "Kung Fu", "Martial Law" and "The Green Hornet" that incorporated martial arts moments or themes. Following Bruce Lee, both Jackie Chan and Jet Li are prominent movie figures who have been responsible for promoting Chinese martial arts in recent years. |
The reconstruction of a martial art as practiced in a specific period is distinct from the practice of a traditional fighting system handed down by way of master-student transmission. The largest movement of martial arts reconstruction is the Historical European Martial Arts revival (HEMA), gaining momentum since the late 1990s. To a limited extent, there are also attempts to reconstruct other styles, such as Korean swordsmanship and Persian armed combat called "razmafzar". |
The Japanese term Koryū refers to "old schools" of martial arts which predate 1868; it does not imply that historical styles are actively reconstructed, just that the school's tradition goes back 150 years or more. |
A reconstructed martial art necessarily rests on historical records, either combat manuals or pictorial representations. Martial arts reconstruction specifically does not claim an unbroken tradition of some historical martial arts. On the contrary, the premise is that in an unbroken tradition, styles significantly evolve over time. It is not necessary for the tradition to have been interrupted in order to reconstruct an earlier style; a case in point is classical fencing which reconstructs the sport fencing of the 19th century before it evolved into current Olympic fencing, or historical German "ringen" which over time developed into contemporary styles of folk wrestling. Claims of ancient martial arts which survive unchanged by unbroken tradition (e.g. as suggested by Yehoshua Sofer), do not fall under reconstruction and are by their nature unverifiable, even to the person making the claim. |
Certain modern schools of Ninjutsu may fall under the category of martial arts reconstruction; the Bujinkan organization claims to base their teaching on a manuscript documenting a historical school, known as Togakure-ryū, dated to the 12th century. But as this manuscript is supposedly in the private possession of Masaaki Hatsumi, its authenticity, or indeed existence, cannot be verified by independent parties. |
= = = National Route 12 (Argentina) = = = |
National Route 12 (RN12) is a road in Argentina, connecting the northeast section to the rest of the country. It runs through the provinces of Misiones, Corrientes, Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires. |
Starting south of the city of Zárate in Buenos Aires Province, and crossing the Paraná River, through the Zárate-Brazo Largo Bridge, continues to the provincial capitals of Paraná, Corrientes and Posadas, ending at the Fraternity Bridge, in the city of Puerto Iguazú, bordering with Brazil. The road continues within Brazil as BR-469. Its length of , is fully paved. |
In the Zárate - Ceibas section, the road is a wide, 4-lane highway. Before the opening of the Zárate - Brazo Largo bridge, on 14 December 1977. cars had to cross the Paraná de las Palmas and Paraná Guazú rivers by barge. The section between the rivers, in Talavera Island, was a treated, unpaved road. |
Construction on the second lane (widening) on the section between Brazo Largo and Ceibas (km markers 115 to 160) was started on May 1997, opening to the public on 12 October 1999. |
National Law 25,680 published in the Official Bulletin on 3 January 2003 designates the section from Brazo Largo to Ceibas as "David Della Chiesa" road. |
The cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants crossed by the road (from South to North) are: |
Length: 30 km (km marker 82 to 112). |
Length: 535 km (km 112 a 647). |
Length: 678 km (km markers 647 to 1325). RN12 is called John F. Kennedy Highway, between the capital cities of Corrientes and Misiones Provinces, Decree 8012 and Law 16484 of 24 September 1964, and Soberanía Nacional on the section Saladas - Goya, Decree 427 of 10 March 1981. |
Length: 317 km (km 1325 a 1642). |
In 1990 concessions were leased with toll collection on the busiest national roads, dividing the country in zones called "Corredores Viales". |
The section between the junction with National Route 9 in Zárate and the junction with National Route 14 in Ceibas is part of "Corridor Vial 18", under the management of "Caminos del Río Uruguay (CRUSA)" with a toll booth in Zárate (km marker 85). |
In 1996 the concession was extended to 28 years with the condicion that the bidding company built a highway between the Complejo Unión Nacional and Gualeguaychú. The section between the General Justo José de Urquiza bridge and Ceibas was completed on October 12, 1999. Due to the currency devaluation of 2002, road work in the Ceibas - Gualeguaychú section was delayed. |
The "Virgen de Itatí Concesionaria de Obras Viales (VICOV)" company took control of "Corridor Vial 13", including, among others, Route 12 between km markers 871 and 1641, in the provinces of Corrientes and Misiones, from the junction with National Route 123 to the access to the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, excluding the section near the provincial capital city of Posadas (km 1336-1349) installing toll booths in Riachuelo (km 1014), Ituzaingó (km 1262), Santa Ana (km 1374) and Colonia Victoria (km 1551). |
In 2003 the "Corredores Viales" concession contracts expired, and the numbering system was changed when calling for a new bidding process. |
"Corridor Vial 6" is now controlled by "Empresa Concesionaria Vial (Emcovial)" and includes Route 12 in the same section as the previous concession. |
Originally National Route 12 had a different layout through the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos and Corrientes. |
The original road started in Buenos Aires, passing through General Pacheco, Campana and Zárate. The section between Zárate's port and Puerto Constanza, in Entre Ríos Province, crossed the Paraná river by barge in a 3-hour crossing. |
After the change of route of National Route 9, in the late 1950s, the section from Avenida General Paz and Campana was changed to RN12. In 2005 the 8 km section between National Route 9 in Campana and the Bartolomé Mitre bridge access over the Paraná de las Palmas river changed to Buenos Aires provincial jurisdiction as a new section of Provincial Route 6. RN12 runs over the ol roadbed of National Route 193 to the bridge over National Route 9 in Zárate. |
After Ceibas it followed the present National Route 14, traversing near Gualeguaychú, and the present Provincial Route 20, passing through Urdinarrain, Basavilbaso, Villaguay, Federal (Entre Ríos province) and San José de Feliciano. |
In Corrientes Province, the road continued through Provincial Route 23 passing by Sauce and Perugorría, then by the present Provincial Route 24 until the junction with the present National Route 12. |
This old roadbed changed to federal control by National Decree 1595 of 1979 except the National Route 14 section between Ceibas and the junction with Provincial Route 20. |
ON the new roadbed the section between General Galarza and Nogoyá, on the south of Entre Ríos Province was still unopened. In 2005, the "Dirección Nacional de Vialidad" signed an agreement with its provincial counterpart to receive transfer of sections of provincial routes 6 and 39 to complete the missing sections of RN12. |
= = = Narayanaghatta = = = |
` |
Narayana Ghatta is a village in Anekal Taluk, Muthanallur panchayat, Sarjapura Hobli, Bangalore, India.There are 7 temples in the village. |
Volleyball is the most popular sport. |
The village has a population of around 2,500. |
= = = Ginsberg's theorem = = = |
Ginsberg's theorem is a parody of the laws of thermodynamics in terms of a person playing a game. The quote was first attributed to the poet Allen Ginsberg in a 1975 issue of the "Coevolution Quarterly" |
It is possible that the quote originates as a slight misstatement of the opening lines of "You Can't Win," by Charlie Smalls, as the copyright date for Small's song is 1974, earlier than the first attribution to Ginsberg. While the song was cut from 1975 Broadway debut of the Wiz, it was performed at the original, 1974, Baltimore run of the musical. Even earlier, the phrasing appeared in an issue of Astounding Science Fiction in 1956. |
The "theorem" is given as a restatement of the consequences of the zeroth, first, second, and third laws of thermodynamics, with regard to the usable energy of a closed system: |
0. There is a game (consequence of zeroth law of thermodynamics)<br> |
1. You can't win. (consequence of first law of thermodynamics)<br> |
2. You can't break even. (consequence of second law of thermodynamics)<br> |
3. You can't even get out of the game. (consequence of third law of thermodynamics)<br> |
It is sometimes stated as a general adage without specific reference to the laws of thermodynamics. |
= = = Reynolda House Museum of American Art = = = |
The Reynolda House Museum of American Art displays a premiere collection of American art ranging from the colonial period to the present. Built in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband R. J. Reynolds, founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the house originally occupied the center of a estate. It opened to the public as an institution dedicated to the arts and education in 1965, and as an art museum in 1967. The house holds one of the country's finest collections of American paintings. It is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. |
Design and construction began in 1912 and lasted until the end of 1917. Charles Barton Keen, who had gained notable success designing homes in Pennsylvania and New York, was the architect of not only the main house, but also the village that included a church, stables, and a school, on the estate. Katharine Reynolds was very involved with the design of Reynolda, and some of her correspondences with Keen survive. The family finally moved in December 1917, but R. J. Reynolds was ill with pancreatic cancer and was not able to enjoy his new home. He died July 29, 1918. |
Reynolda was the home of two generations of the Reynolds family. In 1935, Mary Reynolds Babcock, the elder daughter, acquired the estate. She and her husband Charles Babcock used the house as their vacation home until 1948, at which time they moved permanently to Reynolda. The property remained in the family for nearly 50 years. The museum has restored interior rooms and furnishings to reflect the periods when the family lived there. Reynolda became affiliated with Wake Forest University in 2002. |
Located on Reynolda Road, a large portion of Reynolda can be explored on foot. In addition to the house, 28 of the original thirty buildings remain. To the west lie the restored formal gardens, noted for their Japanese cryptomeria and weeping cherry trees. The lake behind the house ("Lake Katharine") has reverted to wetlands, which provide a home for a variety of wildlife. Many of the buildings in the village are now occupied by boutiques, shops, and restaurants. A short walk across the dam leads from the village to Wake Forest University, built on land donated from the grounds of Reynolda House to the college by Mary and Charles Babcock. |
A French restaurant, La Chaudiere, once occupied the family's former boiler room, but closed in the 1990s. |
Reynolda House Museum of American Art houses a permanent collection of American art and sculpture from three centuries. The artists featured in the collection include Mary Cassatt, Frederic Church, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Gilbert Stuart. Most of the pieces are displayed throughout the historic house. |
In 2005, Reynolda House opened the Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing which features a gallery space for traveling exhibitions. There are usually two shows featured in that space every year, one in the fall and one in the spring. There are other exhibitions throughout the year in the Northeast and West Bedrooms in the house. |
= = = Median absolute deviation = = = |
In statistics, the median absolute deviation (MAD) is a robust measure of the variability of a univariate sample of quantitative data. It can also refer to the population parameter that is estimated by the MAD calculated from a sample. |
For a univariate data set "X", "X", ..., "X", the MAD is defined as the median of the absolute deviations from the data's median formula_1: |
that is, starting with the residuals (deviations) from the data's median, the MAD is the median of their absolute values. |
Consider the data (1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 6, 9). It has a median value of 2. The absolute deviations about 2 are (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4, 7) which in turn have a median value of 1 (because the sorted absolute deviations are (0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 7)). So the median absolute deviation for this data is 1. |
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant. |
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution. |
The MAD may be used similarly to how one would use the deviation for the average. |
In order to use the MAD as a consistent estimator for the estimation of the standard deviation formula_3, one takes |
where formula_5 is a constant scale factor, which depends on the distribution. |
For normally distributed data formula_5 is taken to be: |
i.e., the reciprocal of the quantile function formula_8 (also known as the inverse of the cumulative distribution function) for the standard normal distribution formula_9. |
The argument 3/4 is such that formula_10 covers 50% (between 1/4 and 3/4) of the standard normal cumulative distribution function, i.e.: |
Therefore, we must have that: |
Noticing that: |
we have that formula_14 from which we obtain the scale factor formula_15. |
Another way of establishing the relationship is noting that MAD equals the half-normal distribution median: |
This form is used in, e.g., the probable error. |
Similarly to how the median generalizes to the geometric median in multivariate data, a geometric MAD can be constructed that generalizes the MAD. Given a 2 dimensional paired set of data "(X","Y""), (X","Y")..., "(X","Y") and a suitably calculated geometric median formula_17, the geometric median absolute deviation is given by:formula_18This gives the identical result as the univariate MAD in 1 dimension and extends easily to higher dimensions. In the case of complex values ("X"+i"Y"), the relation of MAD to the standard deviation is unchanged for normally distributed data. |
The population MAD is defined analogously to the sample MAD, but is based on the complete distribution rather than on a sample. For a symmetric distribution with zero mean, the population MAD is the 75th percentile of the distribution. |
Unlike the variance, which may be infinite or undefined, the population MAD is always a finite number. For example, the standard Cauchy distribution has undefined variance, but its MAD is 1. |
The earliest known mention of the concept of the MAD occurred in 1816, in a paper by Carl Friedrich Gauss on the determination of the accuracy of numerical observations. |
= = = Kraken (comics) = = = |
Kraken is a Spanish comics series, written by Antonio Segura and drawn by Jordi Bernet, first published in the magazine "Metropol" in 1983. The stories are centered on protagonist Lieutenant Dante, a policeman in a dystopic society patrolling the violent sewers of the fictional city Metropol. |
As one of the flagship comics series to appear in the Spanish magazine "Metropol", founded by an artist group to achieve greater creative freedom, it was staged in a city bearing the magazine's name, similar to other comics native to the publication. As the magazine's run proved short-lived and was forced to shut down, the series continued its run in "Zona 84". Initially published in black and white, later album issues were released in colour. |
The stories are presented in relatively short episodes, and feature concentrated violence, claustrophobic settings and little sentimentality. There are also occasional appearances of characters who bear resemblance to real-life actors (such as Orson Welles' character in "Touch of Evil" and Max von Sydow's character in "The Exorcist"). |
= = = Into the Purple Valley = = = |